1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to video and/or graphics data processing circuits and systems, in particular mounted e.g. to PVRs (Personal Video Recorders) and to video and/or data processing cards for computers, e.g. PCs (Personal Computers), Laptops, etc., and/or for set-top boxes, and so on. Video data processing in the context of the invention comprises cards processing moving graphics (video etc.) and/or still graphics (pictures, CAD/CAM data), where necessary combined with audio data etc.
2. Background Art
Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown a motherboard 1 of a PC (personal computer) according to the prior art.
Typically, the motherboard 1 comprises a CPU 2, a co-processing component (CoPro 3), a Direct Memory Access component (DMA 4), a quartz or crystal oscillator 5, cache memory components 6, a RAM-BIOS component 7, several plug-in places or card slots 8, and memory banks 9, etc.
As can be seen from FIG. 1, the several components of the motherboard 1 are linked by one or several bus systems comprising e.g. respective data, address, and/or control buses, e.g., a PCI bus system 10.
Further, into the above memory bank 9, one or several SIMM modules can be plugged, each carrying several RAM components, e.g., respective DRAM (or VRAM) memory chips.
Further, into the plug-in places 8—optionally—one or several peripheral component cards can be plugged in, e.g., respective sound cards, video data processing cards, graphic data processing cards, modem cards, etc.
For example, a video data processing card might e.g. control the data interchanged between the PC and a monitor connected thereto.
The video (and/or audio) data processing card might comprise one or several non-programmable data processing chips, each performing a specific, predefined function. Further—optionally—the video data processing card might comprise one or several memory chips interacting with the one or several non-programmable data processing chips.
Further, for example, a video data processing card might e.g. control the data (e.g., the video and/or audio data) interchanged between e.g. the PC, and an external (cable or satellite) network (e.g., a TV network, a network providing video on demand, etc.).
The video data processing card might comprise one or several non-programmable data processing chips, each performing a specific, predefined function. Further—optionally—the video data processing card might comprise one or several memory chips interacting with the one or several non-programmable data processing chips.
The prior art systems as described above have several disadvantages.
For instance, due to the fact that the above graphic and/or video data processing cards comprise one or several non-programmable data processing chips each performing a specific, predefined function, the cards show little flexibility as to their functionality. If a different functionality is needed in general a different card has to be used.
Therefore, what is needed is new system and a new method, in particular, new graphic and/or video data processing circuits, with which the above and/or other drawbacks of the prior art might be overcome.
Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditional approaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, through comparison of such systems and methods with the present invention as set forth in the remainder of the present application with reference to the drawings.